THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR by Anthony Durrant Anthony Durrant 1st N.A. Serial Rights 572 Westminster Avenue Anthony Durrant 1999 Ottawa, Ontario Canada May 9 - May 30, 1999 K2A 2V3 All Rights Reserved. THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR by Anthony Durrant "Thank you for the new suit, Mr. Vaughn," the elegant gentleman said. "You're the best tailor I've ever had, bar none. Have yourself a nice day, you hear?" "You're very welcome," I told him. "It's a pleasure." He gave me a tip and left the shop. "That's my whole life," I said to myself. "My grandfather, Hawkwood Vaughn, founded this shop and my father, Hawkwood Vaughn, inherited it from him when he died. I am the third Hawkwood Vaughn to own and run this tailor shop. Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nit- wit! Just because I make clothes, it seems I don't fit in." I noticed several house mites flying in circles around my head, buzzing round and making nuisances of themselves. Grabbing my swatter, I waited till they were all in front of me and then brought it down on them, killing them. Looking at the bodies, I counted the dead mites lying on my neat wooden floor. "One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . six . . . seven!" * * * "We need a new pilot," a smuggler named Malcolm told his friend and partner JarvisMc- Cloud. "Our last one didn't reach the planet Newhome - he's lost in the maelstrom, a victim of the technogiants there. Can you find out if anyone here has ever faced technogiants before? We don't want to lose another pilot!" At that moment, I opened my shop door and cried: "I KILLED SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW!" Malcolm and Jarvis grabbed me by the arms. I was very surprised when the two big bur- ly men grabbed me. "You're just the pilot we need!" Jarvis said. "We need a man brave enough to run supp- lies to a planet called Newhome." "I'll do it!" I said. This was my chance to prove I could be more than just a simple tailor - and finally be set free from my dreary, boring tailor shop! * * * "We'll arrive at Newhome before you, taking the tradesman's route. You'll be taking the dangerous route - the infamous Newhome run, where many pilots have vanished," Malcolm said, combing his red brush-cut hair. "Watch out for the B-Gamma Maelstrom!" "Thank you, sir!" I said, closing the spaceship's canopy. I waved goodbye to malcolm and Jarvis, then pulled the old ship's throttle lever (it was a CloakShape Fighter Malcolm had converted for smuggling), and shot down the ramps and out of the vehicle bay. Setting the Autonav, I watched as the ship sailed between the Asteroid Archway that was the entrance to the deadly Newhome Run. Just as I was beginning to relax, the ship was jerked off-course - by the forces of the B-Gamma Maelstrom! I was whipped around and around and finally thrown into the Great Eye of the Maelstrom. When I was finally able to right the ship I found myself staring at the many ships which were thought to have been lost in the Maelstrom. Three huge spacesuited humanoids jetted toward me, each from a different direction, each firing long cables with grappling hooks that caught onto the hull. I pressed the button that unclamped my cargo from its place under the ship, then smiled grimly. "These spacesuited lugs are technogiants," I thought. "I only have one option: to set this ship to self-destruct and eject." Removing a panel from the control column, I pulled the destruct switch. When the timer rose from the panel and its light came on, I pulled the ejection handles and was blown out of the ship through the canopy. Below me, I saw the empty ship falling away from under me. Seconds later, it became a huge fireball that engulfed the three technogiants trying to capture it and take it apart. I saw the cargo crate down below the ship's wreckage and lowered my ejection seat to get it. Grabbing hold of the handles, I used the seat's repulsors to move it safely away from the ex- plosion. "Well, blow me down!" I shouted, the memory of the explosion burned into my memory. "I killed the technogiants!" Looking round, I saw an old blue ship above me and rose toward it. When I reached the airlock, I opened it by using the main switch and went inside, closing the airlock when I went in. Leaving my ejection seat behind, I left the crate in the Airlock Room, and went up to the control room by elevator. There I found that this ship's controls were centuries more primitive, and that I could probably fly it very easily. Sitting down at the controls, I set course for Newhome. I pul- led the throttle and the ship moved slowly towards the eye of the Maelstrom, then began to come to a stop. Setting the autopilot, I went to the engine room and saw that the couplings which con- nected the engines to the hyperdrive motivator was damaged. Going down to the airlock, I rem- oved the coupling from the back of the seat, and took it to the engine room, where I removed the old coupling and replaced it with the one from the seat. At that point, the ship went into hyper- space and shot through the Eye like thread shooting through one of my needles. By the time I was able to get up again, I realized I'd escaped from the Maelstrom. Soon Newhome - a green, lovely planet - appeared in the viewport. A few minutes later, I touched down in Newhome's Imperial City and watched the cargo trucks rush up to my ship. Pushing the right button, I lowered the ramp and stepped down, smiling in delight and relief. I'd survived the Run! Smiling proudly, I went into the terminal and checked in, then looked out the window and saw large black crates being unloaded from my ship. After checking in, I went to a Customs off- icer to claim the ship. "Where was this ship found, Mr. Vaughn?" she asked. "In the area beyond the Maelstrom," I said. "I hid a cargo I was bringing here for a smu- ggler in the airlock. He's waiting for me in the Tradesmen's Arrival Room, and his name's Mal- colm. He came here before me and has already landed at this Imperial pad." "Is it a big ship?" "Yes," I said. "It's some sort of yacht and has a hyperdrive. You've seen it - it's the blue ship parked outside. I had to blow up my own ship and used it to escape the Maelstrom." "In that case," she said, "I have no alternative but to put you under arrest. Those black crates contain armaments that were intended for use against the Rebellion. You are guilty of at- tempting to smuggle them in, and will be detained at the Governor's pleasure." A few minutes later, as I was being led away, I saw Malcolm's ship take off and ram the balcony where Governor Cushing was standing, exploding on impact. I was thrown into a jail cell with a large, hard bed. A few minutes later one of the guards brought a beautiful young wo- man into my cell. "This little thief will be your cellmate!" he said, closing the door behind her. "We caught her in the Governor's flower garden!" "My name is Hawkwood," I told her. "What's your name?" "Melanie the Thief," she said. "Daughter of Melanie the Thief, Granddaughter of Mela- nie the Thief. Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nitwit! Just because I'm a thief, it seems I don't fit in. It seems I don't fit in." "We're both misfits," I told her. "I'm a tailor, you're a thief. If the Jedi are right, meet- ings don't happen by chance." Together we sang: "Why are we always misfits? Neither of us is a nitwit. That does it - we'll split. Seems we don't fit in!" With that, we climbed into the bed, huddled up together in each other's arms, and went to sleep. We were awakened the next morning by a blaster shot, and saw a woman standing in the hall- a beautiful woman with fiery red hair and green eyes who wore a white bodysuit. "I'm Cassandra Black," she said, her long curly hair falling down her back. "Malcolm's sister. I was the one who shot the guards. Now I'm going to set you both free." Firing her blaster, she blew the door apart. We stepped through the door, and the three of us ran out of the prison toward the exit to the forest. Along the way we were chased by Imperial Stormtroopers. Above us, ducks flew south in an upside-down V-shaped pattern. Cassandra bla- sted the door open and we dashed out of the building and headed for the forest, losing the Storm- troopers in the trees and plants. When night fell, we took shelter in a wrecked shuttlecraft. As we sat around a campfire, I noticed that one of the skeletons in the shuttle had a scroll handcuff- ed to his wrists. Taking my scissors, I cut the chain. A seal on the scroll read: "For Li Chang, the great, wise and powerful King of the Krayt Dragons, Lord of Tung'- Shang River and Friend of the People of Newhome." "Could you tell Melanie and I where the Tung'Shang river is?" I asked Cassandra. "It's very urgent. We have to get this scroll to Li Chang, the King of the Krayt Dragons." "Of course I can," she told me. "It's to the east of the forest. I will take you there in the morning. Right now, though, the three of us should get to sleep - it's past our bedtime." "Why do you want to go to the Tung'Shang river?" Melanie asked. I showed her the scroll. "We have to take this to Li Chang tomorrow," I said. "It is a message scroll addressed to the Dragon King and should be taken directly to him so that he can read its message." "Agreed," she said, "but for tonight, let's sleep." We did, and woke up the next day refreshed and ready for the journey. Cassandra led us to the lake, guiding us expertly past two Stormtrooper watchtowers before we came to the lake- side, which was littered with dragon statues carved from the rock. "It's time for me to leave you," Cassandra said gently. "I'm returning to Imperial City to kill Bassa the Hutt, a crimelord who's living there. But I sense you two have a destiny together, and that is why I freed you from jail. Go ahead to your destiny, while I go on to my destiny. Our ways part here. Perhaps we shall meet again when my mission is complete." I nodded, looking at her sadly as she went away. Looking down the lakeside, I noticed a tall droid standing in front of a big stone block, a droid marked with the image of a dragon. "Excuse me, sir," I said, "but I have a message for your master, Li Chang. It's important that I speak with him. We have come a long way to meet the King of the Krayt Dragons." I showed the droid the scroll. He remarked: "It's very old and damp - in fact, it's been stained green." "That's because it's spent years chained to the body of a messenger in a wrecked shuttle- craft," I told him. "It's very old and has turned green from exposure to the elements." "Well, the seal is that of King Brahma, the father of our planet's present queen, who had a krayt dragon on his personal seal. Follow me, mortals," the droid said. To my amazement, the block slid back to reveal stairs going down. As Melanie and I fol- lowed him downstairs, she dug into her pocked and pulled out a data reader." "This was hanging from Cassandra's belt," she told me, a sly smile on her face. "I cut its cord and swiped it when the lady wasn't looking." She flicked a switch on the reader, and the face of an albino Hutt came on the screen - it was probaby Bassa's; he was pudgy and fat and his eyes were blood red. "A 20, 000 credit bounty," I said. "Not unusual for one of them. Bassa is a well-known crimelord in these parts, and his ring stretches throughout two solar systems." "Haven't you heard?" Melanie asked. "Bassa had some sort of religious experience, and he's completely reformed. Governor Cushing put the bounty out on him." Just then, we reached the bottom of the stairs, and the droid led us into a huge room filled with men and women whom I knew were really krayt dragons. Each one wore a golden robe and was very beautiful. At the back of the room (actually a holoshroud) was a large man seated on a marble throne - Li Chang himself. With a smile of relief, I walked up to the throne and gave Li Chang the scroll. Rising from his throne, he came to me. "This message was from the late King of Newhome, a man named Brahma," he told me. "He tells of the Imperial Governor, a man named Cushing, and says he's being forced to give the man thousands of credits' worth of tribute to Governor Cushing and his Imperial Solders, by ord- er of Emperor Palpatine himself!" Everyone gasped. "Fellow dragons," Li Ching said, "King Brahma is long dead, but his daughter, Laika, has been forced to rule under the same Imperial restrictions as her father. Queen Laika is in need of our help, and we mustn't fail her now. We will go to the Imperial City and destroy the evil ones, so that Newhome will be forever free!" Li Chang turned to Melanie and me. "You two are considered misfits, are you not?" he asked in a gentle voice. "It seems you don't fit in. You're a tailor who loves adventure, and she's a thief who always gets caught." "Yes, your Majesty," I said, "but we're not nitwits." "Well, both of you will fit in now," he said, putting Melanie's hand in mine. "You're go- ing to lead the invading squadron. Be one with us mortals, for misfits need a place too." Sparks flew from his hand, the holoshroud turned off, and I felt myself shooting through the water like a comet. I'd been permanently freed of my earhbound condition and was now one of the mightiest creatures in the Galaxy. Where was Melanie? "Here, my love!" her voice called. "I can't move - I'm scared!" "Don't worry, darling!" I called back. "I'm here! I'm here!" Soon I saw light through the foaming water, and seconds later, I shot out of the water and into the sky. I saw dragons lurking behind my closed eyes and opened them. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was flying! My large wings, still damp with lake water, caught the wind, hold- ing me up in the air. Beside me another dragon also rode the wind, soaring easily above the tree- tops. It was Melanie! We were heading right toward the Imperial City of Newhome. Using my dragon sight, I looked down at the forest I knew I'd never roam again. "Look, Hawkwood!" Melanie cried. "There's the crashed shuttlecraft we camped in!" "And look there!" I said. "There's the prison we escaped from!" "My Lord?" a voice asked. It was one of my soldiers, who'd flown up beside me. "What is it?" I asked. "Have you decided on our battle tactics?" I remembered the ducks' formation and the mites circling around my head. "Yes," I said. "Attention, everyone! We'll fly the rest of the way to the Imperial City in an upside-down V formation, and each of us will drop back when he or she gets tired of flying so another dragon can take their place. In that way, each and every dragon of this squadron will be protected. When we arrive at the Imperial City we will circle around it and blow up the Imperial supply ships with our fiery breath, thus cutting off their supply lines!" Everyone grouped into the inverted V. I noticed that one of the dragons was shadowy in appearance, but kept my mouth shut. As we came over Imperial City, I gave the order to attack. Swooping down toward the city, we let out the infamous hunting cry, the one the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi had imitated to save Luke Skywalker from the Sand People who'd attacked him. We at- tacked the Imperial shuttles on the landing pad with our flame breath, veering off just as they ex- ploded. Melanie stayed by my side during the whole attack, diving with me when I swooped on the Governor's personal shuttlecraft, blowing it to smithereens and swooping away afterward. A young dragon crashed into one of the supply ships, blowing it and himself apart. "Idiot!" I muttered. * * * At the same time, Bassa the Hutt was having tea with Queen Laika of Newhome. "I should like," Bassa said, "for you to help me make restitiution to the beings I've wron- ged. Now that I've found my religion, I wish to make amends for my past deeds." "Don't worry," Laika said. "Look outside, Bassa. Li Chang has sent his dragons to free Newhome from the Imperial Governor who's strangling our sweet world's economy." Cassandra dropped down into the room through the fireplace. "I'm afraid," she said, "that I will be taking Bassa's money and resources for myself - aft- er I claim my bounty for his head, that is - a 20, 000 credit bounty issued by the Empire!" "Are you working for Governor Cushing?" Bassa asked. "I am Governor Cushing, you fool!" Cassandra said. "My doctors knew what to do if my body was destroyed - they dragged Cassandra Black from her cell and transplanted my brilliant brain into her young, vital body! As for the dragons, my operative within their squadron plans to swoop down on the Attack Leader and knock him out of the sky sometime during the attack. I'm an honourable officer, however, so I'll make you this offer: If you can ring the bell in the palace tower from this dining room, I won't kill you." At that moment, the operative - the black dragon - swooped down toward me, but gasped when he heard the Governor's remarks to the Queen. Veering off at the last possible moment, he swooped toward the bell tower. Seconds later, the Queen heard a loud BONG, and the Governor screamed in rage: the bell had, indeed, been rung. "Your evil rule is over, Governor Cushing!" Queen Laika snapped, then rang for a guard, who came promptly. "Take this lady away. She is the Governor who's held our people in sway for so long! I want her locked up in a place she will never be able to escape from." "Yes, your Majesty!" the guard said, and led the Governor away. Meanwhile, I flew over the bell tower, looking down at the dead body of the black drag- on. He had sacrificed himself to ring the bell and end the Imperial governor's reign of terror and now lay on the roof, his neck broken. Melanie and I cried for joy, for now, the battle was over! I now realized that the black dragon, formerly a Defel (Wraith), had been the Governor's agent, for there was a transmitter/receiver box behind his right ear, and so I told one of my aides: "He'll be given the burial of the hero he was." "Yes, my lord!" my aide said. * * * "Congratulations, you two," Queen Laika said. "Your attack plan drove out the Imperials and freed the planet. My people and I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you've done." "You do me a great honour!" I said, looking at the medal around my long neck. Melanie had a medal, too: both given to us by the Queen. We took off and hovered above Laika. "We're leaving on our honeymoon, your Majesty," Melanie said, "flying over the Brown Mountains to see the sights." "Good luck on your journey, my friends!" Laika said. "From my viewpoint, it's easy to see," I told the Queen as we flew away, "that a love of adventure can set a soul free!" THE END